Falling For The Enemy

“Ah…Bryce, my friend!” A short, dark-haired man in his late fifties rushed to them as soon as they came through the door, his thickly accented words leaving no question about his Italian origin.

“It’s good to see you again, Antonio. How are you feeling?”

Antonio projected a feigned air of annoyance. “You begin to sound like my wife and children, always asking me how I feel. I feel fine.” His voice teased and his dark eyes sparkled as he tapped his hand against his chest. “I am good as a young man of twenty.”

Bryce looked around the crowded restaurant, then spoke to Antonio in Italian. Antonio answered him, then signaled a busboy. Paige watched in amazement as a table and two chairs appeared from nowhere and were set up in a quiet corner that just moments before had contained a large potted plant.

She paid close attention to everything. Bryce became more and more puzzling with each new encounter. He seemed to function comfortably on all levels of society—a phone call directly from the French ambassador with a personal invitation to a formal reception and a small neighborhood restaurant owner who called him by his first name while acknowledging their friendship.

Antonio’s voice cut into her thoughts. “This way, Bryce—” he stepped aside, waving them in the direction of the table as he smiled at Paige “—and your lovely lady.”

No sooner were they seated than a bottle of wine appeared at the table along with menus. Bryce poured them each a glass of wine, then opened the menu. “What’s your pleasure, Bradford?”

She looked at the numerous selections. “You seem to know this place very well. Do you have any suggestions?”

“Everything is good. All the pasta is made daily right here in the kitchen and all the vegetables are fresh. Antonio’s wife is the cook, his daughter helps with the cooking and fills in as cashier when Antonio isn’t here and his sons are the waiters. The entire operation is family run.”

A handsome young man of about twenty-two appeared at their table. “Good to see you again, Bryce.” He shot a quick look of approval in Paige’s direction.

“How are you, Rudy? How’s business been?”

The young man laughed, an open and easy laugh. “You should know the answer to that better than I do.”

Rudy’s words weren’t lost on Paige, but she did not understand what they meant.

Bryce quickly scanned the room, then he lowered his voice. “Antonio’s been sticking to his reduced work schedule, hasn’t he?”

“You know Pop. It’s tough to keep him out of here. He’s been doing pretty good, though. The doctor says things are just fine.” Rudy shot another quick glance in Paige’s direction, then leaned over to whisper to Bryce. “It’s been a long time since I’ve seen you with such a foxy lady…someone special, huh?”

He may have been whispering, but it was loud enough for Paige to make out what he had said. She quickly turned away so her embarrassment wouldn’t be obvious to everyone. Bryce, on the other hand, did not seem to be embarrassed at all.

“Rudy, this is Paige Bradford. She’s a business associate. Bradford, this is Rudy—the youngest of Antonio’s five children. He’s the least tactful of all the family members…and the biggest flirt.” Then, with the swiftness that she was beginning to get used to, Bryce changed the subject. “What’s good today, Rudy? Does Maria have something special for a hungry customer?”

Rudy seemed totally unconcerned about the comments concerning his character. “Only a business associate, huh?” He grinned at Paige, then gave her a quick wink before turning his attention back to Bryce. “You’re in luck. Mom just finished making some cannelloni.” He hurried off toward the kitchen.

“I hope you’re hungry, Bradford. Maria doesn’t know the meaning of the word moderate when it comes to portions of food.”

A classically beautiful Italian girl in her early twenties came up behind Bryce, slipped her arms around his neck and kissed him on the cheek. “Papa said you were out here.”

“I’d know that sultry voice anywhere.” He twisted around in his chair, took her hands in his and extended a warm smile. “Angela, how have you been? Last time I was here you were one month away from motherhood.” He slipped his arm around her slim waist and pulled her close to him. His smile quickly shifted to a teasing grin that matched his tone of voice. “Look at this! I can actually get my arm around you now.”

“Twins.” She beamed at him, her total and complete joy covering her face. “A boy and a girl. We named the girl Sofia, after Grandma. And the boy—” the smile faded from her face and tears formed in her beautiful brown eyes “—we named Bryce…” She quickly blinked the tears away and recovered her enthusiasm. “Bryce Antonio Roberto Vincent—”

“Stop, already!” Bryce broke out in an easy laugh. “The poor kid will be an adult before he gets all of his names memorized.”

Paige saw the surprise and the unconcealed emotion dart across his face before he could hide it. She had thought he was merely a good customer over the years, that this very close family were friends of his. But it was now obvious to her that there was more to it than that—much more.

“Bradford, this is Angela. She’s the fourth of Antonio and Maria’s children. Angela, this is Paige Bradford, a business associate of mine.” The two women shook hands.

Angela’s enthusiasm bubbled to the surface. “It’s time for Papa to go home and rest. If I don’t chase him out of here he’ll stay until closing.” She gave Bryce another affectionate kiss on the cheek. “I’ll see you later.” She turned her warm smile to Paige. “It was nice meeting you.” With that, she hurried off toward the kitchen.

Before Paige had an opportunity to make any subtle inquiries, Rudy returned with the first course of what turned out to be a complete seven-course meal. As Bryce had promised, the food was excellent and there was plenty of it. Somewhere between the fourth and fifth courses Bryce excused himself from the table, saying he wanted to have a word with Maria. She watched as he disappeared into the kitchen.

The fact that he had twice introduced her as a business associate rather than an employee had not escaped her attention. It seemed to demonstrate a sense of equality where others were concerned. It was the same concept as his personal friendship with the French ambassador and also a working-class Italian family who owned a small restaurant. Her preconceived notions about Bryce Lexington were beginning to crumble. Paige was not happy about it, but was not sure how to stop it. She didn’t have any idea where to place her trust, that little bit of trust she was able to muster. Should she trust her firmly entrenched beliefs or her subsequent observations of this man?

“Quite a remarkable man, no?” It was Angela’s soft voice that captured Paige’s attention.

She wasn’t sure exactly how to respond to Angela’s comment. “He’s definitely unlike anyone I’ve ever met before.”

“You’re a business associate?” Angela flashed Paige a warm and friendly smile. “So are we. Bryce owns twenty-five percent of this restaurant.”

The pride, and it seemed to Paige something almost akin to gratitude, showed on Angela’s face. Paige immediately latched on to the twenty-five percent that Angela had quoted. Angela must have been mistaken. A ruthless shark like Bryce Lexington would not be involved in a business if he did not own controlling interest. She tried to maintain a casual tone of voice as she subtly probed for answers. “How did your family come to be in business with him?”

“Bryce had been coming into our restaurant for many years, he knew the whole family. Eight months ago Papa had a heart attack, he needed bypass surgery. Things became very bad financially. Our creditors were after us for past-due bills, we were in danger of losing the restaurant. Then on top of everything else, Grandma became very ill. She was still in Italy. Papa wanted very much to be able to see her before she died but there was no money for a trip and Papa had just had the surgery and all. That was when we became business associates with Bryce.”

Angela looked around to make sure no one could hear them. “He took care of all our past-due bills and paid for Papa and Momma to go back to Italy to see Grandma. She died a few days after they arrived. They never would have been able to see her for one last time if it hadn’t been for Bryce. When they got back, he sent Papa to a heart specialist in the United States to make sure everything was okay.”

“Is that when he took part of your business and made himself your partner?” As soon as the words were out of her mouth Paige wanted to bite her tongue. They sounded too caustic. This young woman obviously thought the world of Bryce, as did her entire family. The last thing she wanted to do was attract undue attention to her real motives and intentions.

Angela cocked her head and creased her forehead for a moment, her expression indicating her confusion over Paige’s comments. “Not at all. It was Papa who offered half the restaurant to Bryce to repay the money he had spent on us. Bryce said they would draw up a formal contract for twenty-five percent rather than fifty percent. So far, he hasn’t taken any of his profits out of the business. He says we should hold the money in the bank and use it as an emergency fund, in case Papa gets sick again.”